Herbs & Spices

Here, grilled chicken turns into a fiesta-style main course. Use leftover canned chipotles to flavor mayonnaise for sandwiches, or butter for chops and steaks.

This soup is good and velvety on its own, but the chile butter adds a luxurious crowning touch.

Mixed-olive tapenade is available in the refrigerated deli section of many supermarkets. Use a version that is chopped, not smooth.

Biscochitos are the best thing to get with your coffee when you eat breakfast at a Mexican bakery. Mi Tierra makes my favorite version of these rich Mexican cookies. Sorry, there is no substitute for the lard—it's the secret ingredient!

I pair the pecorino with a homemade fig paste that takes a little while to make—only because you have to let the figs dry in a warm oven—but is an absolutely spectacular condiment. There's no point in making just a little, so the recipe makes about three times as much as you need here, but that's okay; if well wrapped, it keeps in the refrigerator for about 2 weeks and goes well with other cheeses, meats, and poultry.

Rich Vellante, the talented executive chef of Legal Sea Foods restaurants, developed this wonderful recipe during the "Spices of Life" project when we were working with Chef Suresh Vaidyanathan from the Oberoi Hotel group in India.

Here's a cake that showcases the flavors and smells of Christmas. This three-layer extravaganza has a touch of molasses and shredded apple to keep it moist. As the cake bakes, it fills the house with a fragrance that beats the most expensive holiday-scented candle. Many amateur cooks are intimidated by just thinking about making a cake that doesn't come from a box. Yes, it takes extra time, but it isn't hard. Just follow the steps outlined below. I say, if you want to make an impression, bring on a tall, showy homemade cake. Your friends will be talking about it long after the party is over.

The colored beets and bright green arugula in this dish make for a visually stunning presentation. The sweet roasted beets marinated in lemon vinaigrette play off the pure white fish and horseradish cream. Look for a few different types of beets, such as golden beets and Chioggia beets, and dress them separately, so the dark ones don't bleed their juices onto the lighter ones. In the spring, you could make this dish with wild salmon.

Although the method is very similar to the classic marinated and fried chickens of France, the marinade here has a particularly Greek aroma with its oregano, juniper berries, and coriander seeds. The marinade is also lovely on grilled chicken.

The technique used to make this soup can be repeated for other soups, the seasonings—be they sweet or spicy—varied to suit your tastes. Although the soup is good without it, the cheese adds a flavor note that punctuates the natural sweetness of the squash.

Of all soufflés, this is my favorite. The enticing aroma of goat cheese is very seductive, and the little pockets of melted cheese are found treasures. Although a classic soufflé dish forms a high, puffed crown, I often bake this and other soufflés in a large shallow gratin dish instead. It still looks marvelous, it bakes more quickly, and this way there's plenty of crust for everyone.

This is a great marinade for chicken fajitas, fish, or shrimp. I seal everything in a Ziploc bag, place it in the refrigerator, and marinate for 2 to 4 hours, to ensure that the flavor soaks in. Remove from the refrigerator 30 minutes to 1 hour before grilling.

These little crescents are gone in a couple of bites and can be surprisingly addictive. Their cinnamon sugar coating reminds me of churros, the deep-fried, cinnamon-sugar-coated lengths of sweet dough so popular in Mexico and in my own home state. For a dramatic buffet presentation set them on a tiered dessert tray along with Pequeño Chocolate-Pecan Tartlets (page 166) and Chubby’s White Pralines (page 168).

Editor's note: The recipe and introductory text below are from A Kwanzaa Keepsake by Jessica B. Harris. The traditional roast pork is given a southern accent with a crust of well–seasoned crushed pecans. Thinly sliced pork loin with a slathering of chutney makes perfect sandwiches to take to work or school.

These individual lasagnas are perfect for a dinner party.

This streamlined version of the classic Spanish dish comes together in about an hour—and doesn't require a special paella pan. Sugar snap peas add fresh flavor and nice crunch.